Attorney Info
Andrew E. Mishkin
Partner
Duane Morris LLP
Suite 1000
505 9th Street, N.W.
Washington, DC 20004-2166
USA
Phone: +1 202 776 7864
Fax: +1 202 403 3040
Email:
AEMishkin@duanemorris.com
Andrew E. Mishkin has over 30 years of experience representing both private and public sector clients in a broad range of transactional and regulatory areas, including environmental, energy, product safety and labeling, and federal and local government contracts matters.
Mr. Mishkin's work in the environmental area includes extensive experience relating to transactional and regulatory matters, including those relating to environmentally sensitive projects and pollution control facilities; wastewater treatment and solid waste disposal issues; permitting and procurement of alternative energy projects, such as waste-to-energy and cogeneration facilities; privatization of government environmental services and facilities; and remediation of contaminated property. He served a two-year term as a member of the American Bar Association's Standing Committee on Environmental Law.
His environmental transaction practice has encompassed numerous acquisitions, dispositions, leasing, and financing of businesses and real estate, including over 50 transactions on behalf of the Resolution Trust Corporation (now the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation) relating to the disposition of environmentally distressed properties and loans. He has conducted environmental assessments and worked with federal and state authorities regarding remediation and property transfer restrictions. His practice also involves transactions implemented under state brownfields/voluntary clean-up programs as well as state programs requiring investigation and remediation in connection with the lease or sale of real property. He also has assisted in the implementation of transactions involving innovative approaches to remediation and development of contaminated properties.
In the wastewater treatment area, Mr. Mishkin's work has included counseling and litigation regarding major public wastewater treatment facilities that were subject to federal and state enforcement actions. His wastewater practice also has included regulatory and transactional issues relating to the privatization of and upgrades to federally grant funded wastewater treatment facilities.
His work in the solid waste area has involved counseling and litigation regarding permitting, environmental assessment, and procurement for essentially all types of solid waste facilities and projects, including landfills, transfer stations, recycling facilities, composting projects, waste-to-energy facilities, and waste transportation projects. This work also has included the full range of legal issues relating to the interstate transportation and disposal of solid waste, including counseling and litigation regarding waste flow control and import restrictions.
In the alternative energy area, Mr. Mishkin's practice has encompassed waste-to-energy, cogeneration, and independent power generation projects for governmental and private clients. His work in this area has included permitting, environmental assessment, procurement, power purchase and sale agreements, and litigation. He has worked with project developers, hosts, governmental service recipients, and vendors.
Mr. Mishkin's product safety practice includes product defect reporting, recall, jurisdictional, and civil penalty issues under the Consumer Product Safety Act. His work in this field has addressed a wide range of products, including the sporting goods, electronics, food preparation, and home improvement sectors. He has also addressed labeling and warranty issues for consumer products.
In the government contracting area, Mr. Mishkin has represented governmental and private entities in procurement design and implementation, including development of requests for proposals, proposal evaluation, contract negotiations, bid protests, and construction claims at the federal and state levels. He has a broad range of experience with the Federal Acquisition Regulations and procurement practices under the General Services Administration's Federal Supply Schedules.
Mr. Mishkin is a 1975 graduate of Georgetown University Law Center and a graduate of Yale University.
Representative Matters
- Successfully protested the U.S. Army's proposed award of a sole-source contract for helicopter equipment using funds congressionally earmarked for a competitor of a Duane Morris client. The bid protest, filed first with the Army and then the Government Accountability Office ("GAO"), argued that it was unlawful to make any award on a sole source basis because the earmark had not properly authorized a sole-source procurement, and that the Army had failed to follow procurement regulations applicable to proposed sole-source contracts. Within two days of the filing of the GAO protest, the Army withdrew the procurement, and committed to notify our client and other competitors of any subsequent action to procure the helicopter equipment in question.
- Assist in negotiation of power purchase agreement with Southern California Edison for proposed solid waste hydrolysis project to address renewable portfolio requirements.
- Advice regarding lease of municipal solid waste transfer station and agreement to improve and operate transfer station; contracts with waste collectors, haulers, and disposal companies.
- Advice regarding potential acquisition of two operating bio-fuel facilities, including development of strategy to address permit non-compliance and operations and maintenance issues.
- Counsel to a publicly held biological research government contractor in the development and implementation of a plan to terminate a stock exchange listing and federal securities registration. Resulted in relief from federal securities reporting requirements and substantial savings in accounting, administrative, and legal expenses.
- Counsel to a storm water treatment technology and equipment company in the preparation of a license and assignment of rights to manufacture and sell storm water treatment technology in Asia and Pacific markets.
- Counsel to a software developer in the negotiation of an agreement with a state government for implementation of major redevelopment and expansion of the state's system for enforcement of child support.
- Counsel to a the private subsidiary of an electric generation and energy services company in the development of an electric and thermal energy project serving a major southwestern city government, with possible future expansion to district heating and cooling for commercial customers. Negotiated and drafted project agreement with city and subcontract with engineering, procurement, and construction contractor; assisted in structuring project to optimize financing and tax ownership; advised regarding state and federal energy regulatory and environmental issues, and negotiations with local franchised utility.
- Counsel to a chemical producer in environmental due diligence for its acquisition of a chemical mining and production business.
- Counsel to a real estate developer in the negotiating and drafting of agreements with an independent energy company for the development of an energy supply and distribution system for a large office and hotel complex in New York City. Negotiated the overall structure of the project to enable it to be separately financed in the context of the main project's complex, multi-party real estate and tax-exempt bond structure on city-owned property. Agreements negotiated and drafted included energy project development, ownership, design, construction, operation, and maintenance agreement; space lease for energy facility; funds flow/lock-box agreements; step-in/standstill agreements; and tenant stand-by direct pay agreements.
- Counsel to a project developer in the negotiation of a host agreement with a county government in West Virginia for a proposed, new 1,000MW generation facility; a real estate and coal purchase option agreement with the coal and site provider; and agreements with generation facility co-developer.
- Counsel to a New England municipality in its development of procurement approaches and documents for the privatization of the city's recycling/disposal of sludge generated by the city's new secondary wastewater treatment facility, including advice on legal structures and business approaches for simultaneous dual procurements of alternative projects involving possible development of a project-financed private in-city facility, and out-of-city recycling /disposal services. Also obtained approvals from parties to a federal/state consent decree that required implementation of the transaction and imposed stringent and detailed procedural, substantive, and time constraints. Subsequently completed renegotiation of city-contractor agreement and regulatory approvals of the transaction to address sale of contractor's business to another entity and changes to transportation and disposal program, which will result in savings to city of approximately $1.5 million to $3 million. 2000-2001; 1994-96
- Counsel to a private recycling project developer and contractor in the development of a mixed paper recycling project for a large suburban county in the Mid-Atlantic region under a local law deadline to implement a recycling program. Negotiated and drafted subcontracts for equipment supply by offshore manufacturer construction, loan, trust indenture, and related documents for tax-exempt and taxable bond financing through state conduit agency; agreements with investment banker and feasibility consultant; project and standstill agreements with county; real estate purchase and lease agreements, and product market agreements. 1997-2000
- Counsel to a biological research government contractor in the negotiation of agreements with a medical school for research, development, and exploitation of a biotechnology for cancer treatment. 1994
- Counsel to a major city in its agreement with a project developer for the design, construction, equipping, ownership, operation, and maintenance of a 2,300 ton per day (approximately 50MW) waste-to-energy facility, with the main combustion components of offshore origin. Participated in negotiations with underwriters regarding the issuance of $288 million primarily tax-exempt revenue bonds for project. Headed negotiation and drafting of all other project agreements. Participated in environmental impact statement and permit proceedings. After project completion and successful operation commenced, participated in negotiations with the private contractor and another local government in the area regarding the other government's provision of lower-cost ash disposal services and supply of waste to the project. Also participated in arbitrations under the various project agreements relating to delay claims by contractor, waste shortfalls, and ash disposal.
- Counsel to a private wastewater treatment owner-operator in purchase of a municipally owned wastewater treatment facility (the first complete privatization transaction involving the sale and private take-over of operation of a major federally grant-funded wastewater treatment facility), addressing regulatory and grant constraints, including analysis of the impact of the transaction on certain exemptions from the hazardous waste laws, and analysis and suggested approaches regarding risk allocation, tax, and financing issues. Developed an innovative combination lease and sale structure that obviated the requirement for a federal statutory waiver that otherwise would have been required to implement the project.
- Counsel to a Washington county in the development of request for proposals, participation in the vendor selection, and in the negotiation and drafting of contracts for a proposed waste-to-energy project, as well as related services for the disposal of ash residue and bypassed waste. Participated in negotiations with the utility regarding the purchase of electricity generated by the proposed facility. Assisted in development of test case regarding bond financing and local authority issues.
- Counsel to a city in its successful defense of a court challenge by a group of local waste haulers to the implementation of a waste flow control law. Briefed and argued successful defense of appeal of decision.
- Counsel to a Maine municipality in the negotiation and drafting of a contract for the privatization of its wastewater treatment and collection system and the disposal of sludge generated by the system, addressing a wide range of complex regulatory issues, including hazardous waste exemptions, and municipal industrial pre-treatment requirements.
- Counsel to a Washington County in the development of request for proposals, participation in proposal evaluations and vendor selection, and negotiation and drafting of contracts with regard to a waste-to-energy project and the proposed development of a regional project by a local Native American tribe.
Professional Activities
- American Bar Association
- Business Law Section - Has written and lectured extensively on privatization and solid waste issues
Admissions
- District of Columbia
Education
- Georgetown University Law Center, J.D., 1975
- Yale University, B.A., 1968
Experience
- Duane Morris LLP
- Partner, 1999-present - Beveridge & Diamond, P.C., Washington, D.C.
- Principal, 1982-1999 - Beveridge, Fairbanks & Diamond, Washington, D.C.
- Associate, 1975-1982
Selected Publications
- "Split Vote by CPSC Signals That Tracking Labels Must Be Placed on Children's Products by August 14, 2009," Duane Morris Alert, May 27, 2009
Selected Speaking Engagements
- Moderator, "Financing and Clean-Up," Combating Terrorism in the Environmental Trenches, 30th National Spring Conference on the Environment sponsored by the American Bar Association's Standing Committee on Environmental Law, Washington, D.C., April 12, 2002




